Raina Rose

Name: Raina Barbara Rose

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Cochise High School

Hobbies and Interests: Anime, Vocaloids, science-fiction, stargazing

Appearance: Raina is 5’5” tall and weighs 142 pounds, which gives her a slight hourglass figure and a soft stomach. She is fair-skinned and has a relatively blemish-free complexion. Her face is round and she has large, round eyes, a small, upturned nose and pouty lips. Raina has heterochromia; her right eye is light brown, while her left eye is blue. This is most likely a hereditary trait, as both her parents can recall older relatives on their respective sides of the family that displayed heterochromia, though neither of them has it. Her hair is straight and naturally dirty blonde, though it is currently dyed bright blue, and it falls to her mid-back when loose. She usually wears it up in a high ponytail. Her ears are pierced twice in the lobe and she usually wears studs or small hoops in them.

Raina’s fashion style is bright, with hints of counterculture; she favors shorts and skirts paired with longer tops, kneesocks, thigh-highs or tights with Mary-Janes or tall boots, and fingerless gloves. The most common colors in her wardrobe are blue and green. She wears a moderate amount of makeup, usually foundation, lipgloss, mascara and sometimes brightly-colored eyeliners. She will wear heavier makeup when she wants to cover the shadows that are frequently under her eyes. On the day of her abduction, Raina was wearing high-waisted denim shorts, a light gray, long-sleeved t-shirt with an off-the-shoulder neckline over a blue tank top, black and blue striped kneesocks and black platform Mary-Janes.

Biography: Raina is the second of three children born to Max and Adriana Rose, between her brother Cameron, who is two years older, and her sister Leila, who is four years younger. Max and Adriana both worked as doctors at the local hospital and were frequently away from home for most of the day, leading to their children spending a large amount of time in daycares or under the watch of neighbors and relatives from an early age. As a result, none of them are particularly close to their parents, with Cameron and Raina frequently assuming the role of caretakers for Leila once they were old enough, as well as cooking dinner and helping each other with homework and other school preparations day to day.

In an attempt to make up for their lack of close personal interaction, the Roses lavished material attention on their children, ensuring that they never had to wait long for toys, games, or clothes that they asked for. Raina’s particular interests always leaned toward science-fiction, and she devoured the books and movies that her parents found for her. She liked science-fiction for the imaginative, adventurous stories, and the idea that current-day technologies were evolving into the things that she saw and read about and might one day be available to her in real life. Outer space and stories involving space travel in particular always fascinated her with their grand scope and themes of discovery. One of her most treasured possessions is the telescope that she received for her tenth birthday; spending late nights using it to look at the stars through her window or out in her backyard is a long-standing pastime of Raina’s.

It was also Raina’s fascination with space that first led her to discover anime, when her parents picked up a DVD copy of the series Sailor Moon, thinking that the mainly female cast and space-related fantasy would appeal to her. After finishing the series, Raina sought out other similar titles, usually streaming them first on Cameron’s computer and then her own when she received one. At first, she stuck to light, comedic shows and ones with minimal violence but she was gradually introduced to darker and more philosophical ones that had also piqued Cameron’s interest, such as Death Note.

Through browsing YouTube, she also discovered Vocaloids such as Hatsune Miku and quickly grew to be a fan of them. Though Raina herself has never been particularly inclined towards the creative arts, she appreciated the freedom that being able to create their own content afforded people; she liked the many different kinds of stories that could be told through an unexpected medium like music software, as well as the way that Vocaloid artists turned what were essentially just mascots into actual characters with their songs. Raina’s interest in Vocaloids followed much the same pattern as her hobby of watching anime, in that she originally only watched the popular and light videos, and gradually began to seek out darker ones as she grew older. She is currently a member of a few online forums dedicated to anime and manga, which she uses to find new series to watch and discuss.

Raina and her siblings were encouraged by their parents to put a lot of effort into their schoolwork, and they all did quite well for the most part. Towards the end of middle school, however, Raina’s performance and attentiveness in the classroom began to flag. Increasingly often, her homework was turned in incomplete or not at all, and she complained of not being able to sleep at night and being too tired to do her work. Her parents attributed it to staying up too late watching videos or playing games on the computer and restricted Raina’s access to it accordingly, but her sleep issues persisted. She could usually fall asleep for a short time, but would awaken after only a few hours and would be unable to fall asleep again no matter how much she tried. When further changes to Raina’s activities and schedule over the course of a month or so proved unsuccessful in alleviating her sleep problems, Max and Adriana decided to take her to a sleep specialist, who diagnosed Raina with chronic insomnia. She was prescribed the medication Silenor, and her parents were informed that they needed to ensure that Raina could get at least seven or eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night after taking the drug.

Medication and a few more adjustments to her daily schedule to ensure that she went to bed more regularly helped to correct Raina’s sleeping patterns, and she gradually regained her previous energy and attentiveness in school. As she began high school, Raina was naturally drawn to the applied sciences such as physics and chemistry, having always had an affinity for the mathematical side of things. Her teachers fostered her fascination with space and physics, and she began to consider what she wanted to do as a career and how she could develop her interests towards that end. She dabbled in a few clubs that involved her interests, such as robotics, but she remained indecisive on what kind of career or educational path she really wanted to pursue.

She was disappointed to find that there was no astronomy club at Cochise, and attempts to gather enough students in order to form one that would be officially recognized failed due to lack of interest. She still stargazes on her own, though less frequently than she did when she was younger due to the importance of maintaining a regular sleeping schedule. She makes an effort to watch meteor showers, eclipses, and other phenomena that are visible in her area, because she considers them exciting.

Aside from her insomnia, Raina’s general lack of physical activity was a concern that her parents brought up every so often. None of her major hobbies require physical exertion, and while Raina is not notably unhealthy in her habits she is certainly out of shape and has never had any interest in athletics. Most notably, she has never learned to swim; she was not interested in taking swimming lessons during her childhood, and her parents did not wish to exert the time and effort to try and force her into an activity that she didn’t want to do. and she rarely goes outside during her free time except for when she goes stargazing.

Raina’s interest in shows that were considered dark or edgy continued to develop throughout her adolescence, mainly fostered through her online activities. She prefers anime that introduce questions about human nature, existence, and other moral and philosophical topics, and has come to view these sorts of shows as more worthwhile and intellectual than shows with lighter tones and more of a focus on action, romance, or comedy. She does not completely disregard more light-hearted shows - the Sailor Moon reboot is one of her new favorites, for example - but she gets frustrated with people who won’t show interest in her preferred stories. She has gotten in some trouble on forums for starting arguments with such people by telling them that they are shallow and refuse to be challenged. Conversely, she considers people who share her preferences to be more open-minded and generally smarter and worldlier.

Conversations with her brother Cameron have fostered this attitude, as he shares many of the same views that Raina does regarding pop culture and society in general. The two of them are very close, and have frequent discussions about entertainment, the media, or whatever other issues are on their minds at the moment. Cameron began seriously questioning authority during his high school years as he became more politically and socially aware, and especially began taking issue with his parents’ distant approach to raising their children and the overall conservative atmosphere in Kingman. Partly out of frustration and partly as a cry for attention towards Max and Adriana, Cameron began expressing increasingly radical viewpoints to challenge their conventional worldview and try to get a reaction out of them.

Max and Adriana, for their part, were not overly concerned with Cameron’s rebelliousness until it began influencing Raina as well. She had begun parroting his political statements to her peers and had offended some of them by expressing views on sensitive issues that she didn’t fully understand. This was exacerbated by her tendency to assume that people who disagreed with her were ignorant or sheltered, rather than that she was wrong or that there was merit to both sides of an issue, and had led to a few heated arguments and class disruptions. Raina had avoided serious disciplinary action for the incidents thanks to her academic status and lack of previous behavioral issues, but her teachers were aware of Cameron’s recent behavior and passed their concerns on to the Rose parents their children had begun acting out. Leila had also been affected, noticing that her older siblings were now voicing their unhappiness with their parents, and had added her own feelings to the mix, admitting that she felt like Max and Adriana didn’t care about their children as much as work or each other.

All of these issues finally coming to a head led to a fundamental shift in the Rose household. For the first time, Max and Adriana sat down and had in-depth discussion with their children about how they felt they were being treated and why, and what they thought their parents ought to do in order to mend things between them. Cameron was the most resistant to their attempts to reach out, pointing out that he was very nearly an adult now and that the chance to really be effective parental figures to him had passed by. Raina, fifteen at this time, echoed Cameron’s sentiments somewhat, but she and Leila overall were more receptive to trying to reconnect with their parents.

In the last two years, Max and Adriana have been making honest efforts to spend more time with their children and show more interest in their lives, mainly focusing on Raina and Leila; Cameron has since graduated high school and was accepted to Yale University, where he has settled in comfortably. He has been showing interest in actual political activism as of late, rather than just seeking out views that he thinks would shock his parents, and he and Raina still frequently talk about such things.

While Raina has been mostly open to her parents’ recent attempts at connecting, she still feels doubtful about the sincerity of their actions. She continues to hold an underlying suspicion of authority and people that she views as refusing to challenge themselves and question the world around them. She has been testing her new boundaries with her parents, changing her wardrobe and dyeing her hair to see how they would react. So far, they have been tolerant of her aesthetic changes but have tried to curb her zealousness in pushing her viewpoints on others regarding entertainment and media.

As the time for college applications approaches, Raina has been considering the California Institute of Technology for her first-choice college. She is indecisive at the moment about what field she really wants to focus on and is planning to start out as a mathematics major while she figures out what kind of career she wants to pursue. Her sleep problems have occasionally resurfaced, causing her some anxiety and stress when they flare up, but adjustments of medication and schedule are usually enough to right things. She is somewhat concerned that her personal and political views will cause her some trouble when she goes off to college, but she generally expects college students and professors to be more open and similar in thought to her than her more conservative peers in Kingman.

Advantages: Raina is very smart and has a strong tendency to question and investigate the world around her, which might help her get a better feel for her surroundings and be more aware of potential dangers. Her stubbornness and perseverance could help motivate her to continue through difficult situations. She has a beginner’s knowledge of programming and electronic engineering thanks to her participation in the robotics club, which could give her an advantage in handling electronics or machinery that she might come across.

Disadvantages: Raina suffers from chronic insomnia, which can cause her stress and anxiety when exacerbated, and disruptions to her personal schedule and supply of medication cause the condition to worsen. She is out of shape and cannot swim. She has a tendency to view herself as intellectually superior to people who hold different interests and views from her, which has alienated some of her classmates. Though her stubbornness could be a boon, it could also get her in trouble in situations where diplomacy or cutting her losses would better serve her.

Designated Number: Female student No. 017

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Designated Weapon: 1x Hand Grenade

Conclusion: Beginners knowledge of programming huh? Here's some beginners knowledge for that grenade. Throw it near a group of people you hate and it's hilarious.- Josie Knight

'The above biography is as written by backslash. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: backslash

Kills: 

Killed By: 

Collected Weapons: 1x Hand Grenade (assigned weapon)

Allies: Johnny McKay, Alice Baker

Enemies: 

Mid-game Evaluation: Raina was placed in a bathtub in the water treatment rooms, upon awakening she removed herself with difficulty. Johnny McKay found her on the floor, trembling from the cold. While she recovered they negotiated with Alice Baker, hiding just outside the room, imploring her to join them. Alice's pessimism drove Raina, both herself and Johnny found themselves confident in producing a plan to save the class at large if they all stuck together. That convinced Alice, and they started to move.

They moved up the stairs until they ran into Aiden Slattery and Scarlett McAfee. They tried to exchange plans, advice, but quickly ran into the pressing issue of Aiden's denial of their situation. All of them tried to convince him otherwise, and that quickly left him overwhelmed, panicky and crying. Raina tried to console him but the situation quickly devolved, Alice ran off, guilty at having partly caused Aiden's suffering, then the bell tower rung in the distance and Scarlett ran off to investigate, Aiden pursued without hesitation. That left Johnny and Raina alone, and in a brief exchange they elected to not pursue Aiden, instead pragmatically electing to conserve resources and execute their plan.

They holed up in one of the regular ward rooms, where Raina finally found her weapon. She had Johnny close the door to their room so they could start planning for the days ahead, she proposed they list likely allies and enemies, and their overall big picture. They would spend two days holed up in that room. Each time announcements came up Raina forced herself to not mourn them and continue working on her planning, though she continued to produce nothing concrete. Eventually after Day 3 announcements she decided they had to start moving again, start searching for opportunities.

They found Jasper Bustamante and Audrey Reyes in the group therapy, both were friendly and offered them a place to rest. Raina was glad for it, but dismissed the offer to take a break, she started she was looking for supplies or allies without detailing her plans to them, as she was worried that the terrorists could easily overhear. They weren't able to offer anything concrete, before the group was crashed by the appearance of Alvaro Vacanti, holding a gun their way. Jasper tried to make peace with Alvaro and was succeeding, but Raina doubted it was going to work in the long run. She and Johnny non verbally agreed to bolt, and as they did so Alvaro panicked and opened fire, though they escaped. Raina dragged the two of them to the crematorium gardens before her terror abated and she began to sob bitterly for her cold abandonment of Jasper and Audrey. She stayed weak and helpless for a while, mentally weak and questioning her own lack of progress so far, refusing to move. But Johnny gently prodded her, and she came to and made the call for them to head to the supply depot, so they could continue their search for anything useful.

Post-Game Evaluation: 

Memorable Quotes: "I know Beaks is your friend and all... we can follow for now and tell the two of them to stop acting like idiots when we catch up with them, but if they can't get it together, we need to move on." - Raina to Johnny, after Aiden runs off and leaves them alone.

Other/Trivia

 * Parts of Raina's appearance and backstory are nods to popular V4 character trends.

Threads
Below is a list of threads containing Raina, in chronological order.

The Past:
 * Tower of Sunz
 * Reaching You
 * The Last Answer
 * Two Breaths Walking

V6 Pregame:
 * Sibling Apathy
 * 4649お願いします!
 * Morning Dew
 * People II 2: Still Peoplin'
 * Dismantle, Repair

Sadie Hawkins Dance:
 * Hyperventilation Dance
 * I Know What My Fortune Is
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl

V6:
 * World's End Girlfriend
 * Needles and Pins
 * Thanatophobia
 * Coward Mont Blanc

Related Threads in Meanwhile:
 * This Kind of Life Keeps Breaking Your Heart

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Raina Rose. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''